An Existence Worth Dying For
by Tiki Rane Gobell
Summary: To those unwanted in the world, what was life worth? They want to exist, but will they find an existence worth dying for? Alone they are nothing, but together they are more. A Naruto-runs-away-as-a-child fic. Strong Naruto. New power.
1. Why?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Author's Opening Note: This is a fic about Naruto Uzumaki. He will be the main focus of all the characters and the fic will be centered on his experiences. He will be a happy-go-lucky guy who has seen the negativity of this world and wants to change it. He will have moments of extreme brilliance eclipsed with his own stupidity and clumsiness. Be prepared. I've written a couple of chapters in already, but I'm not sure if I'm going to include any romantic pairings yet. However, I may change my mind (I've been known to do that).

**An Existence Worth Dying For**

By: Tiki Rane Gobell

**Chapter I: Why?**

**Naruto Uzumaki**

It was one of those nights where an ominous feeling permeates the air. It was raining, a hard rain that dug right into the ground and splashed up mud. There were streaks of lightning in the sky, sometimes coming down to hit the earth in a splintering display of nature's fury. Thunder roared across the land. It was one of those nights that no one would dare go out in, preferring the dry, warm comfort of a home. However, this night, there was one person daring the storm.

He had turned five that very day. Most would celebrate their day of birth, but he had to hide. People tried to hurt him on this day, kill him even. His only previous memories of this day were of crowds chasing him and then pain and then nothing. He would wake up hours, sometimes days later, dirtied and covered in blood, yet without a scratch or a scar. He didn't understand and neither did the people who could have sworn they killed him the day before.

But today was different. Naruto Uzumaki chose to hide this birthday. He buried himself in the woods early morning and stayed there all day with patience that is uncommon to a five-year-old. But he knew what was on the line. He never wanted to feel that degree of pain again.

He was forced out of hiding by the storm. He was headed back to his lonesome apartment that he had been living in for a year already after having been kicked out of the orphanage without even a reason why. The orphanage had been just as lonely as his apartment. The caretakers told the other kids not to talk to Naruto. They said that the boy had a deadly disease and that they would catch it if they even acknowledged the blond boy. Naruto had believed that too, for a while. But as the days passed and Naruto did not even feel sick, he began to realize that people lie. People didn't like him. People would glare and spit at him. But why? Naruto endured it in silence.

The rain glued his blond locks to his head and threatened to get in his blue eyes. It soaked through his ragged shirt and shorts. His sandals were full of mud. But his home was in sight. New graffiti covered the front of his apartment. "Monster" was scratched into the wood of his door. The windows had been broken out. He hoped his landlord wouldn't make him pay for that, but he knew it was a false hope. Luckily, he knew old man Hokage would help pay. The old man was the only nice person Naruto knew. He didn't get to see him often, maybe only once a month, but the old man made sure Naruto had some cup ramen in his cabinets and his apartment paid for. It was more niceness than Naruto had ever received from anyone else.

Naruto pulled out his key as he approached the door, but sighed in sorrow to see that he wouldn't need it – his door handle had been ripped off. Hopefully, whoever had broken to his apartment hadn't taken his cup ramen. He was hungry. He hadn't had a meal since the night before and his stomach growled at the very thought of food.

He opened the door to a very unpleasant sight – the furniture (what little he had) was crushed into pieces; the doors to his cabinets, fridge, oven, closet, and bathroom had all been ripped off their hinges; his clothing and blankets were a singed mass in the corner; his cup ramen was lying open, spilt over the floor; and there was one of the men still there, lounging against the wall, as if he had been waiting all day(which, Naruto reminded himself, he probably was).

"You put up a valiant effort at trying to evade us today, monster, but it was all in vain," the man snarled. He had a face mask on and nondescript dark clothing. Obviously, he didn't want anyone to recognize him, which Naruto's brain analyzed, was most likely a bad thing. This man was going to hurt him.

Two more figures fell from the ceiling behind him. _Shinobi!_ Naruto knew then that he was not going to escape tonight. Hiding all day had been a wasted effort. Naruto did the only thing he knew how.

"Look! The Hokage!" He shouted as he pointed in the vague direction of his closet. He used the minute distraction to jump through the broken window, gashing his arm on broken glass as he did so. He regained his feet only to jump off of his third floor balcony into the muddy street. He took off with the mud splashing around him impeding his progress. He ignored the rain blinding him and gnashing at his skin. He ran for his life. Five slippery, mud-filled steps later and the three masked shinobi seemed to flicker in front of him. _Damn they're fast!_ _Quick! Another distraction!_

"Look! Your mom!" Unfortunately, yet understandably, the same trick didn't work twice. The tallest of the three grabbed the kid's arm in a painful grip.

"You would know all about my mom, wouldn't you, demon?" he rumbled in a gruff voice, "Seeing as you killed her and the rest of my family!" The man threw the boy into the side of a brick building. Naruto hit the wall and smacked his head against it with a resounding crack. Gravity pulled him painfully back to the ground. Naruto forced himself to sit back up, trying to see past the stars that filled his vision.

"I've never hurt anyone!" he cried out. Oh, if he could just make them understand!

"Of course you would say that demon!" the man chuckled darkly, sending Naruto flying back out into the middle of the street with one heavy-booted kick to the stomach.

Naruto curled in pain. This was the longest he had gone without blacking out. He briefly wondered why until the man started talking again.

"You have used that disguise too long, demon. You're not fooling anybody except for the Hokage. That old fool is blind to not see you for what you truly are – Kyuubi, sealed within a human body by the fourth Hokage. The Hokage thinks you're just a boy sacrificed for the village. I am not so blind, demon. And tonight, Konoha will finally be safe once I kill you."

Naruto's eyes were wide in surprise and understanding. Now, he finally understood the glares and the contempt from people he had never even met. He understood why people called him monster. But could he really be the demon? He was Naruto Uzumaki, just another orphan in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He had no desire to hurt, to maim, or to kill. They had to be wrong about him!

"No! You're wrong! I wouldn't hurt anybody! I swear!" he cried out to them. It didn't seem to reach his attackers at all. They all began to draw their swords, rain drops glistened off their deadly edges.

"No more lies, demon!" One man shouted. In an instant, the ninja was behind the boy, and then that blade sunk into his young flesh, cutting him across the throat. Blood gurgled at the wound as he tried to scream, more of it pouring out.

"Let's kill him!" Those were the last words Naruto Uzumaki heard before the comforting blackness grabbed hold of him and took him away from the pain. The other two ninja jumped upon the poor boy, drawing out the torture with slow shallow cuts rather than a finishing blow, regardless of the fact that the boy was already unconscious. When they were done, a sword thrust through the heart ensured that he was dead. They dumped his torn and broken body back into his apartment and then set the room on fire. They left before any witnesses came to the scene.

When Naruto awoke, he was laying in three inches of water. It was still dark all around him. He could hear the echoes of water dripping and loud breathing. The blond sat up. He noticed that there were pipes above his head and that he seemed to be lying in a sewer of some kind. The loud breathing was coming from a barred door down the sewer a bit. Naruto stood and approached the bars. He could feel the power coming from the room. It was so tangible, it was practically like heat. Red eyes stared down at him.

"So it's true? I really am the Kyuubi?" he asked the air.

To his surprise, the beast behind the bars chuckled in hellish delight**, "Ku, ku, ku…if only it were true, little human, then I would be out there and not stuck in here."**

"So I'm.." Naruto began.

Kyuubi cut him off, **"Just another ignorant human. Oh yes, that's true."**

"How did I get here? And where is here?" Naruto asked the red beast.

"**You are dying, little human. You are just about dead. Your body has already died, but your mind lives just a little longer, which is where we are now. See the blackness encroaching on us? We have very little time left."** Kyuubi's voice was venomous – power and anger in every syllable. Most would be struck with knee-shaking pain at the sound, but Naruto viewed it all with an almost detached impassiveness. It earned him a smidgeon of a degree of respect from the nine-tails.

"So this is what dying is like?" Naruto sighed.

That evil amusement was back. **"Hardly,"** said the Kyuubi. **"When you die, I die as well, so it is in my best interest to keep you alive."**

"But how?" Naruto asked amazed.

"**I'm already working on it. I have been healing and repairing your body as we have been speaking. In a few, your consciousness will return. We are surrounded by fire in the outside world. I will get you there, but you will have to get us away from it."**

"You can heal me?" The boy asked.

"**It is in my best interest. It has nothing to do with you,"** snarled the beast.

The blackness seemed to be backing away, but now the sewer and the bars seemed to be fading. Naruto knew he was regaining consciousness. He shouted back at the receding image of the Kyuubi, "And how do I get back here?"

"**You don't**!" Kyuubi growled back.

Naruto woke up again to the heat of flames licking at his skin. He recognized the room as his apartment as he jumped up off of the floor. He jumped through the broken window as he had done previously that evening, this time missing the glass that cut him before. He started to run, away from his pain, away from his misery, away from his loneliness. He stopped running when he reached the top of the carved heads of the Hokages. This was his safe place, the place he always went when things were too much. He sat on the fourth's stone head and just looked down at the village, out of range of the glares and the hurtful words. The village always did seem so much more pleasant up there. It seemed peaceful. It seemed calm. It looked like a good home. For the first time in his short life, Naruto finally was able to see past the charade. Kohoha would never be a good home for him. He stood and turned his back on the village, hoping that his path never led there again.

He never stopped to think about things he might need. He didn't think about food or water or clothes or shelter. As the rain washed the blood and mud off of his skin, he could see the scars the village had left on him. Why had the Kyuubi left them? He had healed him scar-less before. Was it because the pain from these wounds reached his soul? As he felt the raised scar tissue on his throat, he knew, somehow and unexplainably, that that was the reason.

He walked away from the village, unprepared for what may come, but knowing that anything had to be better than what he left behind.

A five-year-old should never have to leave his home village. But, then again, when had Naruto ever had a choice in the way the world treated him?

**Gaara**

What was pain? What was love? Why did they fear him?

So many questions and Gaara could never find any answers.

Yashamaru tried to help.

But look at him now. It was all lies. Just lies…

_Why am I the only one who is a monster? What am I? Yashamaru.._

Gaara cried on the rooftop as kunai sailed towards him. It was futile. Nothing could penetrate his sand. _What? Why? Why do I…Why am I the only one who has to go through this?_

Gaara turned to see a masked shinobi. Gaara felt anger. He attacked the person who dared attack him. He sent out his sand to engulf the man. The sand compressed and left the man in a sad, bloodied state.

"Who are you..?" a frightened and confused Gaara asked. "Why…?"

And then Gaara saw it. The bandage on the finger that Yashamaru had sliced that very day in order to demonstrate the difference between pain of the flesh and pain of the heart.

He slowly went over to the crumbled ninja and removed his masked. It couldn't be…

…_Yashamaru!_

"You are strong, as I expected…Gaara-sama," the bloodied Yashamaru said.

Gaara could feel the wound in his heart growing bigger. He clawed at it to try to find the pain, but he could never touch it.

It welled up inside him until his sand rose up around him as he gave an unearthly shout, "Yashamaru!"

The sand came drifting back down, but the pain…it lasted.

"Why…why…Yashamaru...why did you…why?" he cried out to Yahamaru, tears in his eyes. He remembered what his uncle had explained to him earlier that day. _Love is the spirit of devoting yourself to someone important and close to you…you are a person who is important and close to me, Gaara-sama… _"Why…You…you…I thought that you were…"

Yahamaru seemed resigned to his fate. "It was an order. I was ordered to kill you by Kazakage-sama." Gaara looked up surprised and frightened.

"Father did…Father? Why? Why me?" Gaara cried, tears running off his face and onto the ground.

"You were born with the Shukaku of the Sand, and then observed like a guinea pig, Gaara-sama. But since you could not control the power of the living soul, Shukaku, and were unable to manipulate sand on your own, you existence was deemed a danger to the village. Before that happened…"

Gaara suddenly found hope, "Then you did this unwillingly because Father ordered you to?"

"No, that is not correct." Gaara's looked stricken. "It is true I received the order from the Kazekage-sama. But I could've refused if I had wished to." Yashamaru was bleeding a lot. He didn't have much time left. "Gaara-sama…Deep within my heart…I hated you. You took the life of my beloved sister when you were born. My sister's memento…I tried to love you by thinking of you as her treasured gift, but I couldn't. My sister did not wish for your birth. She became this village's sacrifice, and she died cursing this village. After that, I carried around a wound that could never heal. My sister gave you your name. Gaara – a demon who loves himself. Fight so that you can live. But my sister did not give you the name because she cared for you or loved you. She gave you that name so that you could continue to exist, because she hated and cursed this village as she died, and she wanted her deep hatred to exist and remain…To let others know of it. You were not loved." Yashamaru opened his vest revealing the explosive tags attached to himself, the fuse already lit. "This is it. Please die."

He exploded in a bright flash of light and then smoke and fire. Gaara's sand came up to save him, but Yashamaru was no more.

Gaara sat, curled into himself. He was crying. The pain was too great. His heart…his heart felt like it was being squeezed to death, but he couldn't stop it. The sand began to rise around him again. It came back down, drilling into his forehead. It carved the word "Love."

_This is what Gaara is…me…I finally understand. I'm alone. I won't believe in anyone, or love anyone. I'm alone. I don't need this village. I will leave._

He gathered some sand up and condensed it to its hardest form, shaping it into that of a gourd. He filled the gourd with regular sand, tied some straps to it, and pilfered a plug for it from a large storage vase in the street. It was heavy but his natural ability to control sand allowed him to lessen the weight by suspending in the air just a bit.

He was not alone here. He didn't want to be with anyone. He walked through the streets of Suna, leaving for good.

That was the last time Suna glared at a boy who was just misunderstood and confused.

There were greater powers at work when these two young boys set out all alone. They were both searching for the same thing, even if they didn't know it yet. They wandered the land, not sure where they were headed but they were sure that it had to be better than what they were leaving behind. Neither of them even took the time to stop and look back in the direction they had come from. They continued on, scrounging for food where they could find it, and Naruto sleeping only when he could go on no longer (Gaara rested, he never slept).

O0o.end chapter.o0O

A/N: Another chapter will be out Saturday, but from then expect one a week.


	2. Red Meets Yellow

Chapter II: Red Meets Yellow

**Chapter II: Red Meets Yellow**

In Konoha, a bright sun beat down upon a dismal scene. An old man dressed in Hokage robes and a pipe in his mouth surveyed the burnt and blackened room that used to be Naruto's apartment. The blaze had completely destroyed the apartment before the fire squad had been able to extinguish the flames. It was sad – a boy bearing a burden too big for his shoulders had finally been killed by those he was protecting. The old man could only shake his head and hope that he could find a predecessor soon. He was too old for this grief. He heard the soft step of an ANBU landing behind him, kneeling and waiting for instruction.

"Report," the old man ordered.

The animal-masked shinobi replied, "There is no sign of the boy anywhere in Konoha or the surrounding areas."

The Hokage sighed. "Then it is as I feared. His body has been burned inside his apartment."

"It does appear so, Lord Hokage."

"Then you are dismissed."

With a final bow, the ANBU jumped away. The Hokage then turned to a dog-masked shinobi leaning against the side of a nearby building. He seemed to be at ease reading a dirty novel, but the Hokage knew better.

"Kakashi, what have you found?"

Kakashi closed his book, hiding it inside his ANBU cloak. "My nin dogs have scoured the area. There was a lot of blood out on the street near us and up in the apartment, so much blood, that the scent survived the fire and the rain. The amount of blood still left outside suggests that he was killed first, and then his body was left inside to burn. The attackers scent did not survive the rain or the fire."

The Hokage took a deep breath, letting it come out slowly. "So, we cannot even punish his murderers. What has this village turned into?"

"It's not your fault, Lord Hokage."

"But it is. I could've given him more protection. I just never thought…" The old man turned his head away, trying to overcome the want to shed tears.

"Grief can drive people to do things that one would never expect of them, some things good, and some things bad," Kakashi said wisely.

The Hokage eyed the scarecrow, knowing that he was referring to his own personal experience. "You're right, of course. But it was a great loss for this village. I had never met a more motivated spirit. He was a good, pure soul, and now, he's just ashes." They stood in silence, honoring the spirit of the lost boy. After a while, the Hokage spoke up, "I must go now and write an official report on the child's death. I'm getting much too old for this."

"Me too," Kakashi agreed as he took off down the street, his book back in front of his dog mask. Why did Kakashi even bother to wear a mask? As if anybody else had the balls to walk around reading smut in public.

Temari knocked on the door to her brother's room. She was worried about him. He hadn't been at breakfast, or lunch, and he had just missed dinner. Where was he?

"Gaara, are you in there? Do you want something to eat?" she asked nervously. Her brother was a roller-coaster of emotions at the best of times, and his mood swings made him very dangerous. But once his anger passed, there was always only a sad little boy left. She wondered what made him so sad, but she was always too afraid to ask. Her father didn't seem too fond of Gaara either. Was it because his wife, their mother, had died giving birth to the boy? Did her father blame her brother for his wife's death?

There was no answer from within the room, so the curious Temari cautiously opened the door. _What if he's in a bad mood?_

"Gaara?" she whispered.

No answer.

Looking around, Temari found the room empty. Where was Gaara?

"Father," she said sometime later, standing in front of the Kazakage's massive desk, "I think Gaara is missing."

The kazekage looked up from his paperwork. "Temari, why do you bother me with that concern? I am very busy and I am sure that your brother is fine."

"But he hasn't been to any of the meals today and he's not in his room – "

"Temari," her father's voice turned stern, "That's enough. Your brother is capable of taking care of himself. Leave me."

Temari looked up at her father in surprise. Her brother was five years old. How was he supposed to take care of himself? She forced herself to bow her head. "Yes, father." She left.

Soon after, the Kazekage turned to a Shinobi who had just entered via the window.

"What did you find?" he asked.

"We found pieces of Yashamaru's body littered upon a rooftop where witnesses say an explosion occurred last night. There is no trace of the boy, so we believe he must have run away. Should we pursue him, sir?"

"Mmm…Is that so? No. Do not pursue him. It is futile with his sand shield. The report will say he died in an unordered attack by Yashamaru. I wash my hands of the monster."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage. It will be as you have asked." The shinobi gave a bow before leaving.

When the Kazekage returned home that evening, he gathered the children he truly considered his and told them the news.

"I must regrettably inform you that Gaara's body was found today next to Yashamaru's. Witnesses report that Gaara lost control of his sand and it kill both himself and his protector. I'm sorry for your loss."

The Kazekage then left to go to his room. He missed the narrowing of Temari's eyes. She couldn't help but think that he was hiding something from her.

After miles and miles of traveling through the sandy desert, Gaara, for the first time in his life, was in a forest. The glorious greens of trees surrounded him and the air was saturated with water. Rabbits and squirrels scampered around him. He couldn't help but gaze about in wonderment. Suna was nothing like this.

Suna…He cursed that place. It was dry and scorching and the people were worse. Such a lonely place. _But I am meant to be alone._ Gaara cursed his very existence.

The emotions from his last night in Suna started catching up with him again, just when he thought he could leave them all behind in the sand. His emotions soon began to overwhelm the five-year-old. He began to cry again.

"Why me…why am I always alone…why am I the only one who has to go through this?" Tears dotted the ground he was kneeling on.

"You can't be the only one. This world's a huge place, or so I hear. I haven't seen much of it yet."

Gaara's eyes widened in shock at the new voice. His hands came up to quickly wipe away the tears as he looked around for the owner.

It was a boy his age, with the most yellow blond hair he had ever seen, whisker marks on his cheeks giving him an animalistic look, and eyes an intense color of blue. They seemed to hold such emotion. Gaara notice the boy's clothes were tattered and worn and were practically rags, and he was nothing but skin and bone under those rags. The boy was completely filthy, but Gaara could still tell that he had very tanned skin. Marring such a beautiful skin tone were white scars, cover his arms in gashes, and continuing under his clothes. The most notable of these scars was the slash across the boy's throat. How could the young boy have survived so many wounds?

"It's okay to cry. It doesn't make you weak as long as you get up from it," the boy said.

Gaara shook his head. "It is weakness. And weakness will not help me survive. It will not let me prove my existence."

The blond boy shrugged. "Suit yourself." He jumped down from the branch he had been on. Growing up in a ninja village had taught him certain things, like how to jump through the canopy of a forest. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he greeted, holding a hand out to shake. The friendly gestured went ignored by the redhead.

"Why should I care? You will just be like the rest of them." Even as he said those words, Gaara began to doubt them. This boy didn't seem to be afraid of him like everyone else was. But then Gaara remembered the demon inside of him. _Once he finds out about it, he will be just like everyone else._ At those thoughts, Gaara began to go in to one of his darker moods again. Sand began to drift out of his gourd and stir around his feet. "You _will_ be just like the rest of them and I will have to prove my existence against you."

"Whoa, that's a crazy-ass power you have there," Naruto said in awe.

He didn't notice the sand trickling closer to him, piling under his feet.

Gaara's eyes shifted between icy green and gold. "Now die so that your blood can prove my existence. So I can live as my mother wanted." The sand rushed up and enveloped the blond boy. Gaara fisted his hand and the sand responded, crushing the boy. The sand dumped the body and slithered back into its container. He turned his back on the scene and began to walk away. This would be his life now. Not three steps later and the hairs on Gaara's neck stood on end. Something eerie was going on.

"That doesn't seem like any reason to live at all."

Gaara's eyes widened to an unbelievable size. He spun around. The body he had crushed was moving. The blond kid was picking himself up gingerly off the ground and was wiping the blood away. He seemed perfectly fine.

"But how…?" Gaara asked amazed.

"I'm…complicated. Yeah, that's the best way to put it. I heal fast. Really fast," the blond tried to explain. He looked embarrassed as he crossed his arms behind his head. "And like I said before, I don't believe that life should just be about killing people to prove your existence."

Gaara was skeptical, but he had just witnessed the unbelievable. "Then what is the purpose of living?" he asked, genuinely interested in the answer this strange scarred blond would give him. Gaara's life had turned so drastically since Yashamaru's betrayal.

The blond looked intensely thoughtful. "I don't know yet, but I plan to find out. I'm going to travel the world to find out." Naruto pinned the boy with a serious look and friendly smile. "I don't want to chose too hastily and end up picking the wrong thing. I guess that means right now my purpose is to seek knowledge. So I will travel the world on my quest." The look on Naruto's face made Gaara want to believe him.

"You're going to travel the world by yourself? You're too young." Ah, the hypocrisy.

Naruto put a finger to his chin in thought. "You're right of course. But I'm all I've got, so I'm not going to let that stop me. But hey!" Naruto struck a great idea, a finger in the air. "If you travel with me, then I won't be alone. And who knows, maybe you'll even find a better reason to live!"

Gaara mulled it over. Really, it seemed so simple. Naruto made it sound so easy, like a walk in the park. What else was Gaara going to do? Wander around lost and by himself. _But what if he betrays me like Yashamaru?_ Gaara's expression turned fierce. _Then Kami protect all life on earth._ Gaara looked over the boy one more time, not sure if he should completely trust the boy. But, he seemed so earnest, so…

He nodded.

"Yay!" Naruto jumped as he celebrated. This could be his first true friend! "So let's go! There's so much ground to be covered….uh...I still don't know your name."

"It's…Gaara."

"Gaara, huh? Well, we'll have lots of adventures Gaara! You can be sure of that."

Maybe Naruto was right. Maybe there could be more to life.


	3. The Adventures of Tom and Huckleberry

A/N: I haven't been getting much of a response from this story, but I think I'm gonna write it anyway

**A/N: **I haven't been getting much of a response from this story, but I think I'm gonna write it anyway. I think I'll also tweak my summary to maybe make it seem a bit more interesting.

**Chapter III: The Adventures of Tom and Huckleberry**

After two straight weeks of walking through the woods, late summer was beginning to fade into fall, bringing with it cooler temperatures. Resting for a lunch of rabbits Gaara was able to catch in his sand, Naruto was waiting impatiently for them to cook over a fire they were able to make. They had passed through a town a week ago and Naruto had bought them some matches with money he had saved up in his Gama-chan. He had been tired of just eating berries and apples.

A thought came to the fidgeting boy. "Hey Gaara." The redhead looked up. "You know how we always walk everywhere?"

Gaara nodded, his red locks catching the motion.

"Well, I was thinking," Naruto continued, "what if, instead of walking, we ran for as long as we could for the day."

"Why?" Gaara asked. He liked the slow pace they had been setting. He was definitely not as hyper as Naruto, and definitely not as impatient either.

Naruto's arms crossed behind his head, a gesture Gaara had recently correlated to Naruto getting ready to give some great proverb that he had unknowingly created. "I just don't want to spend all of my life finding what I should spend my life doing. I don't want to forget to actually live. Plus, if we ever get the chance, I want to become a ninja! And running would help get us in shape for that!"

Gaara thought about it. It did seem to hold some value. At least, it would help him become stronger in order to prove his existence. "It seems reasonable."

Naruto eyed him suspiciously, "Are you sure? You're gourd looks too heavy to run around with."

Naruto was so strange. First, he talks him into this idea and then he tries to talk him out of it. Even with two weeks together, Gaara was no closer to figuring the boy out. "I can lift it with my affinity as I do now. It is not that heavy then."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. He pulled his rabbit off the fire and stuck it in his mouth too hastily, burning himself. "Ow! Hot! Ow!"

_So smart and so dumb at the same time._ Gaara mentally sighed. He supposed he couldn't have picked a more interesting companion.

After their meal, Naruto wandered off to take a leak, leaving Gaara behind to clean up camp.

Gaara heard him returning before he saw him. "GAARA! I THINK IT'S TIME TO START PRACTICING RUNNING!" He darted out of the bushes and took off past a confused Gaara. "Come on, Gaara! Start running or the bees will get you!"

Sure enough, Gaara could hear the sound of buzzing getting louder and louder. _What did he do?_ Gaara didn't have time to ponder about it. He took after the blond, though he ran on the ground, while Naruto preferred to jump through the branches.

By evening, the bees had finally given up pursuit and the boys threw themselves on the ground panting. "Well, that was a good start. Tomorrow, we might even be able to last longer." The blond then passed out in a deep slumber.

Gaara rolled his eyes at his companion's quirks. He certainly hoped Naruto was just kidding when he said that. For some reason he doubted it. He forced himself to stay awake. Naruto had yet to figure out that Gaara could never sleep. Naruto just thought he liked late nights and early mornings. Well, Gaara surmised, he would figure it out someday on his own.

* * *

Two months and three towns later, Gama-chan was empty from buying simple supplies such as matches and water canteens, and even two blankets to fend off the approaching coolness in the air as the leaves of the trees turned different colors of red, orange, and yellow. Naruto pouted over his skinny Gama-chan. They were in a port city by the water and they had no path before them unless they went over the water.

Gaara seemed frozen at the sight of the water. There was no land in sight in the horizon. How much water could there be?

Naruto was talking to a friendly local, who had a soft spot in her elderly heart for the young boys. Naruto wandered over when he was done, standing beside Gaara and looking out.

"Apparently this is the ocean." Gaara could smell the odors of fish and salt in the air. "That old lady said if we want to go farther, we're going to have to pay for a spot on a boat."

"We have no money." Gaara stated bluntly. He guessed that they would just continue walking along the shore.

Naruto, as easily distracted as ever, heard a banging against the docks. Naruto went to the edge and looked down.

"Hey Gaara, I have an idea." The smile on his face made Gaara want to point-blank refuse. Naruto was surely scheming something, and it was likely to turn out bad. Gaara approached the edge of the dock nervously – he decided he didn't like water that much. In the water at the docks base were some old abandoned barrels.

"No."

"Oh, come on, Gaara! It will be an adventure! Look, no one is looking right now, so use your sand to pull two of them up here."

Why did he have to have such puppy-dog eyes? Gaara relented and pulled two of the barrels up, latching on to them with his sand. They only had a little bit of dirty water in them, and Naruto promptly poured it out.

"This is perfect, Gaara! Come on, grab your barrel and follow me."

Naruto ran off down the dock, rolling a barrel in front of him. Gaara followed at a slower pace.

Naruto stopped outside a big ship, near a bunch of other barrels.

"This is perfect," he said. "Now, if I could only read their labels." He scratched his head squinting at the labels.

"You don't know how to read?" Gaara asked. It wasn't too unbelievable. They were only five. Naruto wasn't too behind. Gaara was the son of the Kazekage. His schooling was probably accelerated. Gaara wasn't exactly sure where Naruto had come from or his life before traveling, but Gaara hardly supposed it was very encouraging of education.

"You do!?" Naruto was excited. "Can you tell me where these barrels are going?"

Gaara took a look at the label. "It says its going to the Land of Wave."

"Wave, huh? Sounds like fun. Let's go!" Naruto rolled his barrel into the middle of the labeled barrels.

"Naruto," Gaara scolded, "This doesn't sound like the best idea." He could see obvious loopholes in Naruto's plan. Holes like, "How far away is the Land of Wave?" and, "Do we have food to last that long?" or "What will we do when we get there?"

"Ah, Gaara, don't be scaredy cat. What could happen? Oh, look! I think they're coming! Let's get ready!" Naruto ducked down inside his barrel and pulled the lid over top of him. Gaara really had no choice but to do the same.

In no time, Gaara and Naruto had to hold on to their lunches as their barrels were rolled up the dock and loaded in a ship. Naruto's barrel was set upside down, leaving him in a very uncomfortable position. Gaara got another barrel stacked on top of him. There would be no moving around on this voyage.

Once the workers were all gone, Naruto could only hear Gaara's grumblings. "Great idea Naruto. Yeah, let's get stuck in the cargo of a ship for who-knows-how-long! No food, no water…"

"Oh, yeah, Gaara! Well, at least you're not upside down! All the blood is rushing to my head!" Naruto whispered-yelled back, not wanting to be caught.

"Shut up, Naruto. I'm not talking to you right now." Gaara sighed and shifted in his barrel, trying to get as comfortable as he could get.

"…"

"…"

Naruto sighed loudly. "Hey Gaara."

"What?" Gaara answered ill-temperedly.

"When we get out of here, will you teach me how to read and write?" the blond asked.

"Maybe…it depends on whether or not I decide to kill you." There was no humor in Gaara's voice.

"So..." Naruto ventured, "That's a definite yes then?"

A resigned "yes" was his reply.

* * *

An hour and 10-sighs-a minute later, Naruto couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Gaara…I'm bored…"

"And?" Gaara was used to wasting away hours of the night. This wasn't any different.

"Tell me a story, or something," Naruto begged.

"No."

"Wanna hear a joke?"

"No."

* * *

Middle of the night and Naruto was still up. He was having trouble trying to sleep upside down.

"Hey, Gaara. Are you still up?"

"Yes, Naruto."

"You never seem to sleep Gaara. Every time I wake up, you're already awake."

"Hmm…I never sleep."

"What!?" Naruto sounded scandalized. "How can you do that?"

"I have to. You said you wanted to hear a story?

"Yeah!"

"Very well. Even before I was born, my father, the Kazekage, used me as a guinea pig, sealing the Shukaku inside of me. My mother died giving birth to me and my father tried to turn me into Sand's ultimate weapon. However, I cannot control the Shukaku like he had hoped, and I cannot sleep because the demon will take over my body. I was viewed as a failed experiment by my father and a monster by my village. I learned all this from my uncle, Yashamaru, who was ordered by my father to kill me."

"He betrayed you? What happened to him?" Naruto asked.

"He took his own life in a suicidal attempt to kill me."

"Gaara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Naruto said quietly.

Gaara sounded surprised, "You don't hate me?"

"Nah, Gaara!" Gaara could imagine the smile on his face. "I'd have to hate myself to hate you!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that your story further convinces me that we were meant to travel together. We're a lot alike. I suppose you told me your story, so I might as well tell you mine. The Kyuubi attacked Konoha a little over five years ago. The Yondaime went out to fight him, but knew he couldn't kill him. Instead, he sealed him inside a newborn orphan…me. My villagers also hated me. They called me "Monster" and "Demon." I never knew why until the night of my fifth birthday, the anniversary of the defeat of the Kyuubi. Every year on that day as long as I can remember, people had tried to hurt me. This year, I decided to hide. I came back late that night thinking that all the trouble would be over. Unfortunately, there were three shinobi waiting for me in my apartment. All of the scars you have seen on me were inflicted on me on that night. It's only because the Kyuubi heals me so quickly that I survived. I woke up to the shinobi leaving my body to burn in a fire. From that time on, I decided that I didn't need Konoha. I set out on my own until I met you."

"You have a demon sealed within you too?"

"Yeah..."

"I am…glad I met you then."

They passed into silence. Naruto seemed to have fallen to sleep finally. Then again, he may have just passed out from all the blood rushing to his head in his upside-down position. Gaara used the silence to think about the boy. They were so similar and yet so different. Everything about Naruto was…Gaara couldn't quite describe it, but he decided he admired the boy. He wanted to be more like Naruto, living in the present rather than in the past.

Naruto started figeting again in his barrel. Gaara heard a loud growl of the blond's stomach.

"Hey, Gaara. I'm hungry."

Gaara decided, as he too noticed his own hunger, that maybe he didn't want to be like Naruto in every annoying way.

* * *

The next evening, Naruto and Gaara were both uncomfortable, hungry, and thirsty.

"Naruto, this has to be one of your worst ideas ever."

"And it gets worse," Naruto commented, "I have to pee!"

Gaara was really annoyed. Now that Naruto mentioned it, Gaara realized he had to pee too.

"Naruto, I hate you."

* * *

"Ugh!" Naruto tried to keep his gasp of shock and pain silent as his barrel has finally being rolled off of the ship. It was the morning after Naruto had first realized he had to pee. Thank goodness they were moving or Naruto would have been forced to find a knot hole in his barrel to pee out of – not exactly a simple task when one is upside down. As soon as his barrel was set upright again, Naruto burst out of the top, surprising the workers that were just walking away from the barrels.

"I have to pee!" he shouted over his shoulder. He ran outside of the building, relieving himself behind the first tree he saw.

The workers were more confused when the barrel a worker was just rolling in exploded to pieces, sand scattering the pieces. The workers were more confused when the sand in the air seemed to be sucked into a gourd, revealing another little boy, who also took off running outside and behind a tree.

"Hey! You two!" The guy in charge shouted. "Get back here!"

The boys zipped up their flies as soon as they were done and took off running into the woods behind the building where the workers were still yelling out at them angrily. Not even the grown men had as much endurance as the little boys who had been running everyday for two months. They soon left the men behind.


	4. Finding A Reason

A/N: Well, this is hot and right of the press. Consider it your update for the week. Next one? Next Sunday sounds good.

**Chapter IV: Discovering a Reason**

_The boys zipped up their flies and took off running into the woods near their stopping point. Not even the grown men had as much endurance as the little boys who had been running everyday for a month. They soon left the men behind._

They slowed to a walk, their stomachs wailing unhappily.

"Gaara," Naruto whined, "I'm hungry!"

"Shut up, Naruto. I'm hungry too. Whining is not going to change that." Gaara was a little ill-tempered.

They stumbled upon a road and decided to follow it. It had to lead to a town where they could get some food and water.

Sure enough, it did. They could see a small town off in the distance after about an hour of walking. However, it wasn't the town that interested them-- it was the scene happening right in front of them that caught their attention. A pretty young woman holding a basket was being approached upon by a mean-looking, sword-wielding man. He had a nasty leer on his face and was taunting her.

"What's a pretty little woman like you doing out here all by yourself? It's dangerous, you know? Lots of really mean men around. I wouldn't want you to get hurt," he said with mock-care in his rough voice.

"That's quite all right, sir," she said as she tried to deflate the situation, "I think I'll be fine. I'm just heading home from shopping."

"I don't quite think you understand me, lady," the man's voice turned hard. "I think you need protection, and I think you need to pay me for it. If you do, I might just let you live." He gave her a crooked smile. "Understand?"

She tried to back up from him only for her back to hit against a tree. She felt cornered.

Naruto felt fire run through his veins. He should not be threatening her. She was innocent. Innocent people shouldn't be treated like this. Not like he had been treated.

The man drew his sword and approached her. Naruto could see this scene happening in his head. He had lived it. The shinobi had tortured him with swords like that, swords that spilled innocent blood. He wouldn't let it happen again. Not here. Not in front of him. Not to her.

"Hey, Mister! The only protection she needs is from you and I got that covered!"

Naruto's eyes turned red and an equally red glow surrounded his little form. His canines grew longer, cutting into his lip, the marks on his face grew thicker, his hair grew wilder, and his fingernails sharpened into claws.

"Hee hee little boy…You need to learn your place," said the man. He was feeling confident. Well, he was until he looked over at the little blond boy again to see that he had taken on an animalistic appearance. The man nearly pissed himself when the boy was suddenly surrounded by a red cloak of energy and bloodlust became thick in the air. Even the red-head with the blond was looking shocked at the sudden changes. _Oh shit! _the man thought to himself _I'm going to die._

The boy came at him with speed he could've never been prepared for. The red energy stayed with him, cloaking him. The boy pulled back an arm to punch and the red energy followed it, forming into a claw. The boy never even touched the man. Instead, the red energy lashed out and threw the man away from the woman, unconscious.

Naruto closed his eyes and the red energy faded. His appearance went back to regular. When he opened his eyes, they were blue again, but he looked so tired. "Sorry about that," he apologized to the woman.

"No, don't worry. You saved me. How can I ever repay you for that?" the woman asked.

"Ah, nah, it was nothing," said Naruto sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Just then, his stomach gave a huge growl. The lady gave a warm knowing smile. Naruto blushed. "Well, actually, you could feed me and my friend here."

"It's the least that I can do," the woman said. "I'm Tsunami. Let's go back to my house and I can fix you something to eat…" she trailed off, not knowing their names.

"Oh, I'm Naruto and my friend is Gaara," Naruto said cheerfully. Gaara gave a nod of his head in greeting and followed after the woman who began leading the way to her home.

When it was within sight, she began telling them about the area. "The Land of Wave has always been pretty peaceful, but here recently a man named Gatou has began buying shipping companies. Since then, thugs, like the one you saved me from, started showing up. I don't know if the two are connected, but my father, Tanuza, believes that Gatou is planning to take over all of the ports. He's been really busy lately trying to design a bridge that we could build to prevent Gatou from ruining our way of life, but he won't be able to complete it for many more years. You'll get to meet him and my son. We've been living together since my husband died of an illness right before Inari, my son, was born. Come on in, and I'll make you something good to eat."

* * *

The boys were ushered into a quaint home right on the edge of the water. Tsunami called her father into the kitchen. He was holding a baby that could hardly be older than a year.

"Father, this is Naruto and Gaara. They saved me from a thug today and so I invited them home for dinner. Boys, this is my father, Tanuza, and my son, Inari. Father, could you entertain the boys while I make dinner?"

Tanuza grunted. "Sure, Tsunami." He eyed the boys suspiciously. "You two don't look like much, especially the blond. How did you two punks take out a thug?"

"Hey old man! We're much stronger than we look!" Naruto shouted.

"Calm down, calm down! I'll believe you. Be quieter or you'll make the baby upset," Tanuza hushed them.

"Huh..damn right we're strong," Naruto said in a quieter voice.

"Such language," the man scolded, "Didn't your mom teach you better than that?"

Tanuza instantly knew that he had hit a sore point for the two boys. Both of their eyes took on a far-away look.

"We're orphans," said the red-head. He hardly considered his father family anymore.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. He looked them over again. "But that's no excuse for bad hygiene. You two boys need a bath." He had noticed their ragged clothing (nearly two months of travel will do that to clothes) and neither of the boys had had a bath in anything other than stream water since before they had set off on their adventure. The aging man also noticed that they both had a similar haunted look to their eyes, as if they had seen more than their fair share of the negativity of this world. It was easy to imagine with the blond, covered in such horrible scars, what had made him seem so haunted. The red-head, he imagined, must had shared a similar experience.

Tanuza carted the two boys off the bathroom, explained the process of the bath to them in case they had forgotten or didn't know, and then scurried off, baby in arms, to sit in the kitchen and smell his daughter's excellent cooking.

* * *

"We're all clean now," Naruto said as he walked into the room twenty minutes later. The scars seemed even more visible when he was freshly laundered than when he was dirty. The red-head that followed him still had sand all over him. But, overall, they had done a good job at getting clean, even if it was juxtaposition to their still horrible ragged and dirty clothes. Naruto's clothes especially hardly covered him at all. Tsunami decided she would have to do something about that.

"Just in time, boys, because dinner is ready," she said as she set the food on the table.

It was the best meal Naruto and Gaara had ever eaten, even if it was only fish and rice. There was not a crumb left on the table after the meal.

"When was the last time you two ate?" Tanuza asked in awe. He couldn't even eat that much and he was a grown man!

"Three days ago," Naruto rattled off. Of course Naruto would know, thought Gaara. Naruto did always seem to think with his stomach.

"Well, you both must be tired. Why don't you stay here tonight? We have a guest room," Tsunami offered, ever the perfect hostess as well as concerned mother.

"Really?" Naruto asked enthusiastically. Tsunami nodded, her eyes closed in a sincere smile.

Naruto was trying to sleep that night, but all he could do was think. It was frustrating – he was so tired! He finally realized that he just needed to talk to someone. He rolled over, "Gaara?"

"What, Naruto?" The raccoon-eyed boy answered.

"I was thinking…you know today when I went against that thug?" Naruto could sense his friend nod his head nearby. "I was able to draw on the Kyuubi's power and use it to protect someone. I felt so powerful, like I could do anything, but the only thing I wanted to do was to protect the lady. And I was thinking about that…I could become so powerful just to protect someone…I just feel like, maybe that is what my purpose is in life…to protect people. I want to make sure no one else will ever feel like I did that night…" He trailed off.

Gaara understood his pain. He felt it in his heart every night. Every night his mind went back to that night when Yashamaru betrayed him. He wanted to prove his existence, but he was learning so much from Naruto. Gaara didn't know the words to say to express what he was feeling.

"And Gaara?" Naruto's voice was soft, "I just want you to know that I consider you my closest friend…a brother even, if I could ever have one. You are on the top of my list to protect. You're precious to me…"

Naruto would never know how much his words would affect Gaara. Gaara still could not form words that were strong enough to express how he felt the same way, but he didn't need to. Naruto's light snores drifted across the room alerting Gaara that his…_friend_…had already fallen asleep. _You are my precious person too, Naruto. I want to be like you and to protect you from those who will never understand you._

* * *

Early the next morning, Tsunami slid open the door to their room. Gaara looked up at the intruder before looking back down at his sleeping friend.

"You're up early Gaara" she whispered.

"I don't sleep" the boy answered just as quietly, "But I do envy him for that. People always seem so carefree while they sleep. Why is that, Tsunami?"

The woman entered the room and kneeled on the floor beside Gaara, watching the blond sleep. "It's because people don't have to think when their asleep. They do not have to stress about the day before or the day coming. They get a break from living," she explained.

"But what about nightmares? They do not seem to give him a break from living. He has many nightmares, more bad nights than good some weeks. Why do I still envy him?" Gaara knew Naruto suffered from nightmares of his childhood. Even though Naruto showed no signs of the past holding him down during the day, he could not hide from it at night.

"Dreams, even bad dreams, still get you away from life. You envy his nightmares because you would die just for a chance to have a bad dream because, even though it's a bad dream, you would still be asleep to have it."

"Because I cannot have either, I envy both?"

"Yes."

"You are a smart lady, Tsunami. I thank you. What brings you here so early?"

Tsunami held up a package she had carried in. "I brought you both new clothes. You're old ones are looking horrible."

"I must thank you again, Tsunami. You have done much for us."

"It was my pleasure," she said with a grin and then she left.

Neither of them knew that Naruto had woken up when Tsunami entered the room and had heard the whole conversation. _Gaara…I want to protect you..even from the demon within you that won't let you sleep…I make a promise to myself right now that I will find a way to let you sleep without fear._

* * *

"You two look great!" Tsunami gushed later that day, happy to see that she had picked out the right sizes. Naruto and Gaara had nearly matching outfits. Naruto had thick navy cotton pants that ended right above his blue sandals that he had refused to give up and a half-sleeve fish-net shirt, with a zip-up light blue vest with a high collar overtop. Gaara had black pants of the same fashion with black sandals (he had also refused to give up his) and the same half-sleeve fishnet shirt under a simple white T-shirt. For the approaching winter, Tsunami had gotten them jackets as well – or rather long trench coats, Gaara's black while Naruto's was white.

"Tsunami! You didn't have to get so much for us!" Naruto complained, not used to such acts if kindness. Nevertheless, he blushed at her praise.

"Yes I did. And it was the least I could do for you since you saved me from that thug. I also packed you two a bag of food each. I hope it will be enough until you can find food again."

"Thank you, Tsunami. We best be going. Those roads aren't going to walk themselves, are they?" Naruto headed out the door, waving a hand behind him.

Gaara paused at the door. "Thank you," he bowed, "It really does mean a lot to me and Naruto." And then he was gone too.

On the road, Gaara asked, "Where to next, Naruto?"

Naruto crossed his hands behind his head. "I'm not sure Gaara, but I feel like we should go farther north. We could finally get to see snow!" Naruto had right to be excited. Fire country rarely got snow and Wind country got it even less. Gaara nodded in support of the suggestion. "And on the way," Naruto added, "You can finally teach me how to read and write."

"Well, we can start with the alphabet…"

a/n: perhaps not the most entertaining chapter ever, but things gotta happen..yatta, yatta, yatta. Thanks for the great reviews last chapter. I finally fee like this story is worth continuing.


	5. Haku

**A/N: **It's Thursday, school's out, gas is near 4 dollars a gallon, it's 95 degrees outside…what is there to do? Ah yes, let's update! Sooner than I promised, but I'm sure that's ok with all of you.

* * *

**Chapter V: Haku**

Haku lived on a farm with his mother and father. They were poor but it didn't matter because they were happy. It was winter in the Land of Water and the snow was piled deep. The land had seen many civil wars and Bloodline limits were hated because they had become harbingers of disasters. All of this was unknown to one eight-year-old boy who noticed he could control the water of some half-melted snow.

He formed shapes with it in the air, noticing how natural it felt to have a connection with it. He heard his mother gasp behind him as she dropped everything in her hands.

"Mom, look!" he exclaimed with joy, "Look, look. Isn't it amazing?"

She looked frightened. She grabbed him by the arm making him drop the water. "Why…? Why you too..? Why? Why does he have it too?" She shook him as she screamed, more to herself than to him.

"That hurts!" he cried.

"This can't be!" she screamed as she slapped him across the face.

She regained control of herself, crying, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Haku…I'm sorry," she repeated, grabbing him into a hug.

He was only a little boy. He didn't understand. But his father did, and he had seen the whole thing.

Later that night, Haku woke to the sound of the shattering of a plate. Haku saw his dad standing over his mother. She was bleeding. So much blood. His father came for him next, backed up by some of the villagers.

Haku cried as his father raised the blade above his head to strike him down.

_I'm going to die!_

Suddenly, in a surge of primal need to survive, his bloodline limit exploded into action. The water in the air condensed and then froze into spears. His father and the villagers began to bleed like his mother. They were dead too.

Haku was alone now, breathing heavy in the cold winter air. What should he do? Where should he go? He pulled himself to his feet. _Anywhere but here! Only death lives here!_

He pulled himself away from the dead bodies. He was in so much shock. He ran out of the house and into the snow. He kept going and going until he passed out.

He woke up sometime later, half-covered in snow and shivering in the cold. He had killed his own father! He was a monster! What else could he be? He rose to his feet once again. He had to get away from here! He started walking again. To where? He didn't know. Just away from here.

* * *

Gaara had discovered that Naruto Uzumaki was a human sponge. No, he did not just wait around for food to come falling into his mouth…although if he ever got the chance…Anyway, the point is Naruto picked up letters and words like a dry sponge absorbing water. In a month, Naruto could read, and read he did. Gaara had to threaten crushing him again to get him to stop reading things to him. Naruto loved using his newfound gift. They had sneaked into a ship heading out further into sea when they reached the edge of the Land of Wave, which they had discovered was an island. Gaara used the time on this long secretive voyage to teach Naruto how to read with an old newspaper scrounged from a trash bin as a textbook. At the end of their hitched ride at sea, Gaara was sure his method of getting transportation was a lot better than Naruto's foolhardy barrels – at least they could move around when nobody was watching and also pee and eat when they were sneaky enough.

And just after Naruto had learned to read, he had received another gift: snow. They were finally walking through little falling frozen rain, coming down like the soft fall of the leaves but oh so much more pretty than the thousands of colors of leaves.

"It's snowing!" Naruto shouted at the world, spinning around in it. They had just landed in the area, though neither knew exactly where they were. If they had known any geography, they would know that they were in the Land of Water and that they should tread carefully because this land had it's on Hidden Village.

"Come, Naruto. We don't have time to play. Let's get to a town before we get stuck out here."

"Ah, Gaara! You're such a spoil-sport," Naruto whined. "Why do we have to rush today?"

Gaara shook his head. They couldn't afford to act their ages any time soon. "Because, idiot, in case you forgot, we finished all our food yesterday."

"What!? Then let's get going! The snow's not that great!" Naruto rushed his companion along. Naruto's stomach was thinking for him once again.

The town they finally came to was a gloomy one, and by the time they got there the snow was pouring down. Only a few ventured outside and none of those would spare any scraps for orphans.

"Gaara! I'm so hungry!" Naruto's stomach growled in agreement. For someone who always ate so much, Naruto still looked severely underfed. Once again, Gaara wondered how Naruto had survived his younger life.

"Come on. Let's go back to the woods. I'm sure we can catch something out there," Gaara said, leading his way back out of the town.

Naruto's keen hearing, no doubt something he inherited from his resident fox, picked up the sound of crying down a side street. He followed his ears to find out what was up.

Gaara continued walking until he realized that he had been abandoned. He sighed and then decided to go find his one and only friend. He found him down a side street, peering over some barrels. "Gaara," he whispered as he felt his friend approach, "Isn't she the most beautiful girl you have ever seen?"

Gaara followed the direction of his friend's eyes to see the dirtiest girl he had ever seen before, crying as she sat defeated on a bridge, black hair all over. No tears came down her cheeks, but Gaara recognized the look in her brown eyes – she hurt, she hurt in her heart. She sniffled in the cold, clothed in nothing but shorts and a shirt, no shoes on her feet. Dry sobs wracked her small, starved body and she shivered in the cold.

Naruto darted out of their hiding place before Gaara could stop him. If anything, he was definitely not shy. Gaara once again had no choice but to follow him.

* * *

Haku sat on a bridge, all alone. He was unwanted. Nobody would even look at him…or so he thought.

"Hey! What's got you so sad? Someone as pretty as you shouldn't have a look like that on their face!"

Haku looked up in shock. _Someone was talking to him!_ He saw a cheery blond boy followed by a solemn-looking red-head approaching him, both probably a few years younger than him. They looked unafraid, and the blond actually looked happy to see him!

"Oi, I'm talking to you," Naruto said, only care in his voice when the girl didn't instantly answer him. "I'm Naruto and this is my friend Gaara. We were just walking by and saw you." Gaara gave a near-silent snort at that. Walking by? More like Naruto was stalking by.

The shy girl blushed at being addressed so directly. "I'm Haku," she muttered, looking down.

"Haku?" the boy looked puzzled. "Isn't that a boy's name?"

Gaara figured in out a second before Haku said it: "I _am_ a boy."

"What?!" Naruto shouted flabbergasted, "But you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!"

"Give it up, Naruto," the red-head finally spoke.

Naruto pouted. "Well, girl or not, why are you all alone out in the cold?"

The boy looked ashamed, as if it was his fault for being out here. "I have no parents anymore. They…died."

Naruto's smile faltered. He took a seat on the bridge next to the dark-haired boy to comfort him with his friendly presence.

"And no one would take you in?" he asked softly.

The boy shook his head. "I am...unwanted because I am strange. They think I'm dangerous."

Gaara had a slight smile on his face, a gesture that surprised both Naruto and Haku. "Join the club."

"Dangerous? You three don't know what dangerous is." The new voice was strong and gruff. The three boys looked up to find a tall man, obviously a shinobi with his mist forehead protector keeping his unruly black hair out of his face. , but the metal plate was facing sideways oddly. He had bandages covering the bottom of his face, but his eyes too looked longing for something more than he was leaving behind. He propped a giant sword over his shoulders.

"You are nothing. Children tossed aside with no purpose. You will die out here with no one to take care of you," the man said.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Naruto scoffed. The man in question raised the muscle where his eyebrows should have been. He seemed to be missing those.

"And you don't know when your life is in danger." The man's sword came down at the blond, but the blond didn't flinch and his eyes kept their ferocity. The blade cut into the boy's cheek but would go no farther. A column of sand was holding it in place. The man looked at the other two boys. The red-head had his hands out controlling the sand, while the raven-haired boy had a spear of ice aimed at him. The man pulled his sword out of the sand as the blond wiped the blood off his cheek, revealing that the scratch had already healed. A plan was already forming in the man's mind.

"The three of you are special," he said, "Will you waste your talents here, alone and unwanted? Or will you come with me and put those talents to use?" he offered.

Naruto still didn't back down. What did this man know? They had survived just fine without himi up to now. "And what can you do for us? Teach us to shave our eyebrows?"

Zabuza had to admit that the kid had a rare spunk. Of course, he also didn't appreciate the jab at his appearance. He'd heard it enough, honestly. He'd been born this way! "I can teach you to hone your abilities and I can teach you the ways of a shinobi. We are not but tools, however, I can train you to become a tool that never loses its value."

"Training, huh?" Naruto considered. "What do you think Gaara?" He turned to his companion.

"Where else are we going to go?" Gaara responded.

"Haku?" Naruto asked.

"I agree with Gaara. Where else are we needed?" the polite boy responded.

"Then, Mister, I hope you have food because we're starving and we're coming with you!" Naruto shouted, throwing a punch into the air.

* * *

Naruto and Haku were fast asleep by a fire. Naruto seemed to be having another nightmare-free night. They seemed to be happening less and less frequently Gaara noticed.

He was sitting up awake as usual. The man they were with now, who had told them his name was Zabuza, was also sitting awake by the fire.

"You know….Gaara was it?" Gaara nodded, agreeing that that was his name. "You can go to sleep too, or are you too frightened to sleep with the Demon of the Mist watching over you?"

Gaara quirked an eyebrow. "Demon of the Mist?" He seemed amused.

"What is so funny?" the man asked.

"Whoever named you that must have never met a demon," Gaara replied softly. Zabuza sensed a deeper story that he could tell Gaara did not want to tell. He did not press further...yet. Anyway, he didn't really care. All he wanted was to shape these three boys into his tools so that he could achieve his dream: Kiri would be his to rule with faithful followers like he would shape these boys to be.

"Hmm…you're friend…the blond…what was his name?" The man asked.

"Naruto."

"Right…Naruto…he is an interesting one. All bark but no bite, is he? You can see it in his eyes. Too gentle for this world. An idealist," the man pried.

"He is that and more." Gaara said fading into silence. He seemed to be thinking. Finally, he said, "I find myself…admiring him. His eyes may look gentle now, but when he needs it, they can turn…savage. I wish I could be like him…but that is all I will say. It is his story to tell, not mine." Gaara got up to sit beside his friend, protecting him through the night.

What a strange group of children had landed in his hands. He would return to the village for supplies, and then, he would leave the Land of Mist to gain strength. He would only come back again when he had enough power and money to take control.

And that is how Haku, Naruto, and Gaara found themselves traveling with the soon-to-be missing nin Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sure you noticed that I took the first Haku scene right out of the Anime. I don't really like the dialogue there, but it works. There's going to be a time-skip soon. No need to bore you all with how every little thing went…Review to tell me what you think. I'm always open to new ideas.


	6. They Refused To Be tools

**Chapter VI: The Mission in Which They Refused to Be Tools**

Two years had passed since the Demon of the Mist had allowed the three boys to follow him. In that time, he had passed on his skills of stealth and also strength onto the boys. He was somewhat pleased to find that Gaara and Naruto already had some endurance. He stuck all three of them on weights to increase the results. They had taken to the training quite well, but then, Zabuza was sure they would. It was rare to find three young kids that had all already unlocked their chakra.

The three tested their skills by sneaking into shinobi villages to steal technique and jutsu scrolls without being caught. By far, the greatest accomplishment of the three was when Naruto broke into the Hokage Tower in Leaf and stole a scroll of forbidden jutsus. Zabuza could sense some sort of deeper resentment from the blond and the theft seemed personal. Zabuza didn't ask. Naruto read through the scroll and found that he had the ability to utilize the Shadow Clone jutsu, a jutsu that came in very handy in training as he discovered later on. The scrolls they stole but had no use for they sold. They made a fair share of money just from that venture.

When Zabuza wasn't training them, they were on the move (to stay ahead of hunter nins), taking on missions to get even more money, or Gaara and Haku were working on their personal attacks based on their bloodlines. Naruto spent that time reading. In fact, since Gaara had taught him, Naruto seemed to be enamored with books, often stealing them from ninja villages. Naruto was using the time to learn about sealing. He figured that that was his best bet at helping Gaara get in control of his demon so that he could sleep. If he could just figure out a way to strengthen the seal already there, he might be able to finally fulfill his self-promise to Gaara.

They were cleaning up their camp one day. Gaara was using his sand to extinguish the fire and bury the ashes and also to clear their foot steps so that no trace of them could be found. Haku was using his abilities to pull moisture out of the air to fill up their canteens. Now, Haku and Gaara were dear friends to him, but the seven-year-old couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy go through him. Their powers were so cool!

"Oi, stop showing off you two," he yelled, faking fun.

"You're just jealous Naruto." Gaara had him pinned.

"Ah! Gaara! How dare you accuse me of that," Naruto sputtered as they began walking away from the campsite. "One day, Kami will get you for that! I'll discover some awesome power and then you will be the one jealous of me!" Naruto fantasized while the other three walked ahead of him, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads. "And just you wait! It will be super-cool, like the ability to summon fires!" He pretended to be summoning forth the non-existing flames. "Or maybe control the winds. Gale Force Wind Technique!" he shouted as he brought his hands down through the air as if he was holding a giant paper fan. Little did his companions expect a gushing wind to suddenly spring up, pulling their hair into their faces. They all turned around to look at an astonished Naruto.

"Whoa, did that really just happen?" Naruto asked dumbly. He tried it again. "Gale Force Wind technique!" He yelled again, moving his arms in the same fashion. His companions were pushed back along the ground a couple inches as their arms came up to protect their faces.

"You guys really are a bunch of freaks," commented Zabuza. Well, this venture of his looked like it was going to turn out quite successful.

O0o.o0O

**Five years later**

"Gaara and I refuse to help on this mission," Naruto told Zabuza bluntly.

"You are a tool and you will do as you're told," Zabuza said.

"Yes, but before we are tools, we are human. I will not help to injure an innocent man," Naruto argued back, that fierce fire in his eyes that told Zabuza that he was not going to give in. All three of the boys had changed a lot in five years. Not only had they gotten stronger, but taller and more deadly. All three of them had let their hair grow out. Gaara kept his at shoulder length, Naruto's was long and pulled back into a low pony tail but the fringe was as wild as ever and hung over into his face, and Haku's was the longest and pulled into a high pony tail with his long bangs left out. They each wore similar clothes – the uniforms of a hunter nin. The clothes helped during missions where they could wear their masks and no one ever saw their faces. It had kept them out of the bingo book for sometime. Haku's uniform was a light grey, Naruto's was navy, and Gaara's was black.

"But think of the money. All we have to do is kill one man and we won't have to kill anyone else for a year or two," he argued back hotly. Back in the old days, Zabuza would have just used his huge sword to lob off the insubordinate's head off. Unfortunately, he had developed a soft spot for these three boys. Plus, if he killed one, the other two would abandon him.

"You cannot set a price on an innocent man's head, Zabuza! No amount of money is worth killing innocents!"

"Fine! Don't help! Haku and I can take care of it. But I warn you, if you get in the way, I will not hesitate to kill you either!" he snarled, leaving the room they were hiding out in. Haku followed slowly. At the door, he turned bowing to the two other boys, "I'm sorry, Naruto, Gaara, but…"

"Yeah, we know Haku. Zabuza is your reason for living. I won't hold this against you." Naruto sighed as Haku left.

"What are we going to do, Naruto? Are we just going to let the bridge builder die?" Gaara asked.

"No Gaara," said Naruto, looking determined. "We will follow and intervene if necessary. The demon brothers failed to kill the bridge builder. We can only hope Zabuza fails as well."

They left.

O0o.o0O

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kiba (with Akamaru), followed by their teacher Kakashi and the bridge builder, halted when Kiba threw a hand up in the air, sniffing the air.

"Someone's out there, Kakashi-sensei," he whispered to his teacher.

Kakashi nodded. "Just keep walking but be prepared for an attack," he whispered back.

Tanuza could feel his knees starting to shake. They were going to be attacked again.

Suddenly, Kiba pushed his companions down to the ground as Kakashi grabbed the bridge builder.

"Hey!" Sakura complained, but she didn't get to say more as the sound of a blade whirling through the air got louder and a gush of wind blew their hair around as a huge sword flew over their heads and imbedded itself in a tree.

The all got back up to their feet, backing away from the blade. They blinked once, and that's all Zabuza needed to look like he appeared standing on the handle of the blade.

The scarecrow shinobi approached the man, ensuring that the man would have to get through him to get to his students and the bridge builder. "Well, well. If it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist." He could sense his students coming forward too. "Get back. You will only get in the way. He is not like those other ninja. He's in a whole other league. If he is our opponent, I will need this." Kakashi reached up to reveal his sharingan eye. "This could be treacherous."

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, did I get that right? It's too bad, huh, but you'll have to hand over the old man.

"Now quick! Get in formation to protect the bridge builder!" Kakashi ordered his students.

"Ah, the Sharingan, I feel honored Hatake." A mist began to settle around the area. "They call you the man who has copied over a thousand jutsu, the Copy-cat ninja."

Kakashi's students seemed surprised at this. Funny how the man can be greatly known and feared around the world, but his own village doesn't even know what he's capable of.

"Wow! You're famous Kakashi! That's so cool!" the boy with a dog on his head said.

_How does he have the Shariingan?, t_hought Sasuke, _He's not even a Uchiha._

"Enough talking," Zabuza said as he prepared to jump. "I need to exterminate the old man. Now!"

The genin formed a protective shield around the bridge builder.

"So, I'll have to eliminate you first, Kakashi? So be it." His voice was low and dangerous. He pulled his sword from the tree with amazing speed and darted off the tree and onto the water in front of the ninja.

"What!" Kiba shouted. "How can he stand on the water like that?"

He got no answer as the man was already forming the hand signs to a jutsu.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu."

The fog got heavier. They could barely see through it, and then they could only see a few feet. And then the rogue nin was gone.

"He vanished…"

"Sensei?"

"He'll come after me first," he told his students.

"But who is he?"

"Zabuza Momochi, the ex-leader of the hidden mist assassination unit. He is master of the silent killing technique."

"Silent?" His students were getting more scared by the second. This was their first battle against a jounin.

"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant, but without a sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast, you pass from this life without realizing it. The sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard."

"I can't even smell him!' Kiba said. "It's like he's everywhere and no where at the same time."

Naruto and Gaara watched from the trees, hidden from both the leaf nins and Zabuza. They were waiting for things to get out of hand and then they would step in if necessary. If Hatake Kakashi was as good as Zabuza said, then maybe they wouldn't have to step in at all. They watched as Zabuza sent out a bloodlust while listing the eight fatal attack points that made the genin shake in fear. They watched as Zabuza landed behind the group of genin, inches away from killing the bridge builder. Naruto almost jumped in then, but Kakashi was able to destroy the water clone before it could do any damage. Kakashi and Zabuza then started trading attacks on water clones of each other, each trying to get the upper hand. But then, Kakashi fell into an obvious trap. Well, it was obvious to them who had traveled with the missing nin for seven years. Kakashi jumped in the water to avoid attack, and that is when Zabuza captured him in his Water Prison Jutsu. Water clones rose out of the water to finish off the kids and the bridge builder. The genin were able to fend off the water clones, having only a fraction of their creator's strength.

However, even if they were exceeding Naruto's expectations, they would not be able to beat Zabuza. They needed help.

The raven-hair leaf genin, pulled out two huge foldable windmill shuriken and Naruto was struck with an idea. He created a shadow clone, henged it to the raven-haired boy's appearance, and then had it take the place of the shuriken that was hiding in the shadow of the other shuriken. Zabuza caught the first and jumped over the second. The whole audience was shocked when the second shuriken puffed into a boy with raven-locks who threw a kunai at the arm of Zabuza, forcing him to release his prisoner. The fake Sasuke poofed away and the battle started again.

Kakashi was able to hypnotize Zabuza with his sharingan, but Haku was able to step in pretending to be a hunter nin. Haku put Zabuza into a false death and then carried him off.

"See that, Gaara," Naruto sighed. "Catastrophe avoided."

Gaara could only shake his head. The leaf nins must be very confused by now, he was sure.

Back with the leaf nins, Kakashi stumbled to shore. "I never knew that you knew how to create shadow clones, Sasuke."

Sasuke's answer was flat, "I don't."

"Strange," replied Kakashi before he slumped to the ground, unconscious from chakra depletion.

O0o.o0O

When Kakashi woke up days later he would remember that last conversation in great detail. He realized there was someone else there that was trying to help them. For what case or to what end, he didn't know. Everything was becoming suspicious. As Kakashi recalled the hunter nin, and how he had taken the body away instead of burning it on the spot and that he had killed him with senbon (which are not effective killing weapons), Kakashi realized that Zabuza was still alive. He gathered his students right away for some more training. They would need it if they were to survive their next encounter with the mist rogue, Zabuza Momochi.

O0o.o0O

Naruto and Gaara gathered around the rogue ninja as Haku administered medical aid. He had hit an acupuncture point in the man's neck to put him in his death-like trance. It was very painful to recover from as Zabuza was finding out.

A ruckus at the door brought all attention on a short man with crazy hair and a cane, three samurai were behind him.

"Zabuza, you have failed me again. I should kill you now to put you out of your misery, you little devil. What?" the man pretended to hear something, "You want to say something? Here, let me get these bandages out of the way." He reached up to reveal the man's face, but he never got the chance.

"Ok, you slim ball, that's enough!" Naruto growled, as Haku grabbed his arm in a vice-grip. An audible cracking sound was heard around the room.

Gatou yanked his arm back, yelping. "You should learn your place in this world little lapdogs," he snarled, "Bark for your owner! Come on! Bark! Men, they're refusing to bark. Give them some encouragement," Gatou ordered his samurai, still gripping his throbbing arm. He looked back to find his men plastered against the wall with sand, still alive but pissing themselves and unable to help in any way.

"You. Ninja!" he seethed. "You think you are so cool and powerful. Well, I got news for you. Shinobi don't mean anything anymore. Now, money is the real decider. In the bigger picture, I'm a lot stronger than you."

"Ah, shut your yapping!" Naruto said, giving the man a light punch on the cheek that send him flying across the room and adding insult to his previous injury.

He picked himself up in a hurry, trying to tidy his appearance as he made a run for it. "You have one more chance, Zabuza. You mess it up and I'll mess you up. Understood?" He never even waited for an answer.

"What are coward!" exclaimed Naruto.

"You needn't not have bother," Zabuza said, pulling back the covers to reveal a kunai gripped in his hand.

"It worked out better this way, Zabuza. It is too early to kill him anyway," Haku said softly.

Zabuza cringed in pain brought on by his little movement.

"Zabuza?" Haku asked.

"I'm fine Haku. This pain is nothing. In a week, I'll be prepared to take on Copy-Cat Kakashi again," the rogue nin promised. However, even as he said that, Zabuza was wishing Haku had put his opponents in a death-like trance instead of himself. It would've worked out a lot better for him.

O0o.o0O

Haku wore a dress to go out pick herbs to help Zabuza's pain.

"Honestly, Haku. And you wonder why I thought you were a girl the first time I saw you," Naruto commented as Haku passed where he was lounging next to the door, reading a book. He flipped another page and look up at Haku.

Haku gave him a small smile, only making him look like a girl even more. "It is the perfect disguise, Naruto."

"Ah, whatever. Come back safe," he said, turning back to his book. Gaara was meditating in the corner.

Haku wandered into the woods, looking for the herbs he needed. A bird flew around him, completely unafraid. Though his friends may give him a hard time, his disguise was the perfect one for walking around without suspicion. He looked up to see a boy passed out in a clearing ahead of him. He recognized him immediately – he was one of the Konoha genins. He had black hair that spiked out in the back. His pale skin contrasted sharply with the dark shirt he wore with the wide, standing collar.

Haku leaned down beside the boy, shooing away the birds that were walking on him. The movement caused Sasuke to wake, jumping up and pulling out a kunai.

Haku gave him a disarming smile, "You'll catch a cold if you sleep out here."

Sasuke eyed the girl suspiciously, but decided she was no threat, slowly putting his kunai away. "Hn…A cold is hardly worth worrying about." He looked around and noticed her basket of plants. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm picking medicinal herbs to cure injuries and illnesses. A friend of mine is…sick. But what are you doing out here sleeping?"

Sasuke looked down. "Training. I need to become stronger."

Haku faked dumb, "Are you a ninja or something? That forehead protector…"

"I am ninja from Konoha," Sasuke answered. He felt like he could trust this girl. There was something about her…maybe it was her gentle nature.

"But why are you training? You look plenty strong to me."

A dark aura seemed to surround the leaf nin suddenly. His hands clenched. "I have to get stronger. I need to kill a certain man…" he trailed off mysteriously.

Haku smiled again. "Are you becoming stronger for someone or for yourself? Do you have someone important to you?" he asked.

"What are you trying to get at?" Sasuke demanded. He was getting suspicious again.

Haku remembered back to being all alone, before Naruto, Gaara, and Zabuza had found him. He was unwanted. He was nobody because nobody would even acknowledge his presence. But that changed. "A person is able to become truly strong when they find someone they cherish."

"I don't understand," Sasuke said. "I need strength for revenge…to avenge the slaughter of my family."

"Then you will never become strong enough. It is the motivation that drives us forward that produces our strength, even more so than the hours we train. If you are doing something for someone else, then you borrow a little of their strength too, and you become much stronger. A friend of mine told me all this. He is the strongest person I know when he is protecting his precious people," Haku said, remembering Naruto. He got up to walk away, collecting his basket. Right when he was about to leave the clearing, he said over his shoulder, "Oh, and I'm a guy, by the way." And then he was gone.

Sasuke was upset by that, understandably. It was the first girl he had ever had a decent conversation with, and it turned out the girl wasn't even a girl…but a guy.

"Strange."


	7. Fateful Battle at the Bridge

**Chapter VII: Fateful Battle at the Bridge**

"What is this?" The bridge builder, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba had arrived to a terrible sight. Workers lie dead or injured all across the bridge. Supplies were scattered about, uncared for and broken.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" Tazuna yelled to the downed workers.

"It can't be…" Kakashi whispered.

O0o.o0O

"They left already!" shouted Naruto. Gaara had just woken him up telling him that Zabuza and Haku had already left for the bridge to kill the bridge builder.

Naruto's pajamas flew off in a rush and in no time he was ready for the day. "Come on, Gaara! We have to save the bridge builder!"

They ran through the woods at full speed until Naruto's keen hearing picked up a high-pitched scream of a woman, coming from the direction of Tanuza's house.

"Tsunami!" Naruto paused in his run. He had to make a decision fast. "Gaara, you go on to the bridge. Make sure no one kills anyone. I'm going to make sure Tsunami is alright." Gaara nodded.

Their paths diverged as they took off in their separate directions. He found traces of samurai having fun with wildlife along the way. "Tch…what idiots." He kept running until he came upon the familiar house where Tsunami and her father had helped two starving lonely boys so long ago.

O0o.o0O

Mist started to pour in again. The air became thick with moisture and the bridge was hidden from sight. The four leaf nin gathered protectively around the bridge builder.

An eerie voice surrounded them. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. And you're still carrying those kids around." Sasuke was having trouble controlling the shaking of his hand that was gripping a kunai. "He's shaking again, how pitiful." Suddenly they were surrounded by Zabuza clones.

Sasuke smirked. "I'm shaking with excitement."

The mist nin smiled under his bandages. _Maybe this will be better than I originally thought._

Kakashi addressed his student, "Go for it, Sasuke." And Sasuke was off, taking out Zabuza clones with his new confidence in himself. In a matter of seconds, he had turned them all into puddles of water.

"He can defeat the water clones," Zabuza told Haku, "That kid has gotten stronger. A rival has appeared for you Haku."

"It seems like it," he replied.

"Oh, my…my prediction was right," Kakashi said offhandedly.

"You're prediction?" Zabuza asked.

"The masked guy," said Kakashi.

"Just as I thought too," agreed Sasuke.

Sukara, Kiba, and Tazuna looked confused. Tazuna spoke up, "So it was a lie that he was a pursuing ninja from the Hidden Village of the Mist."

Kakashi sighed. "He's on Zabuza's side no matter how you look at it. They're lined up so nicely. However, it still doesn't explain the shadow clone."

Zabuza laughed. "The shadow clone? So that wasn't the boy. He looked too weak anyway to produce one. Now, my last defeat is so much clearer. It will not happen again. This time, I'll kill all of you and then the bridge builder." In his mind, Zabuza decided to punish Naruto for that stunt. He was the only person he could think of that could have that talent.

Sasuke spoke up, "I'll fight the masked boy."

Kakashi nodded. "Kiba will help you. Sakura, you are to defend the bridge builder no matter what. I will take care of Zabuza." And so the fateful battle began.

O0o.o0O

Samurai cut down the door of the bridge builder's house. Tsunami looked up with fear in her eyes. This couldn't end well.

"So you're Tazuna's daughter…I'm sorry, you're coming with us."

Inari had just finished using the bathroom when he heard a shattering down stairs. His eyes grew wide in fear. He rushed out of the bathroom to see his mom on the floor cowering.

"Mom!" he yelled.

"Don't come here! Run!" she yelled.

"What do you want, kid," a tall tattooed thug asked. "Should we take him too?"

A shorter samurai answered, "We only need one hostage."

_Hostage? _Inari took a step back.

"Then.." the tall one said, gripping his sword, "I'll kill him."

Inari was frozen in fear. He couldn't do anything but shake uncontrollably.

"Wait!" Tsunami shouted, "If you do anything to him, I'll bite my own tongue and die! You need a hostage, right?"

"Hm…" the shorter guy said, "Thank your mom, kid." Inari collapsed to the ground crying. He couldn't do anything.

"I'm not satisfied," the taller guy said.

"Cut it out," his companion ordered, "You already cut those things before we came here. Let's take the woman." They grabbed the woman and tied her hands behind her back.

"Mom…I'm sorry…I'm sorry," Inari cried. He wasn't strong enough. "I'm weak…I can't do anything! I don't want to die. I'm scared!" He had tears running down his face as he stared at the ground, his entire body shaking in fear.

"You can't just keep crying," an unfamiliar voice told him. He looked up to see a masked nin sitting on the cabinets, looking to be at ease. "Being a crybaby helps no one," he explained. "Unless you're willing to put your life on the line to protect what you love, then you don't really know anything. A coward has no reason to live but to exist." He jumped down off the counter. "Being brave is not about not being scared. It's about doing something even if you are afraid."

"Who are you?" Inari asked, wiping his eyes. This mystery man had just nearly repeated back his father's words at him. Inari could feel his body again. He needed to do something.

"It doesn't matter. You want to stay here and cry? Or are you going to go save your mom?"

Inari rushed out of the house. "Mom!"

"Inari!" she shouted back, being dragged by the men. "Stay away! Don't let them get you too!"

"No mom! I won't let them take you like they took dad!" he shouted. He rushed toward the men. He had nothing to fight with, but that didn't matter. He just wanted his mom back.

The shorter guy gestured to the taller one. "You can take care of him. He's being a pest."

The tall guy grinned. He pulled out his sword and licked the edge. "I'm gonna have some fun."

He slashed his sword at the boy, expecting to meet only flesh. He was surprised when a metallic cling met his ears. Where a second ago there was only a boy, now there was a masked ninja standing behind the boy, holding a kunai out to intersect the blade.

"What the…" the man said.

"That's not very nice," the masked nin taunted. The man crumpled to the ground with a swift punch to his temple. "One down, one to go." The shorter guy held his sword up to Tsunami's throat.

"Come any closer and I'll kill her," the man threatened.

He too crumpled to the ground a second later, no harm to done the woman. "Not fast enough," the masked nin said.

"Who are you?" Tsunami asked, collecting her son into a hug.

"Ah…Tsunami, you don't recognize me?" He took off his mask and the bandana his used to cover his characteristic blond hair. "How 'bout now?"

A memory of a little, starved five-year-old boy passed through her mind. 'Naruto?"

He nodded. "All grown up! I must leave now. You father is in danger at the bridge. Do not worry, I will keep him from harm." With a slight bow, Naruto disappeared.

"Mom, who was that?" Inari asked.

"His name is Naruto and he is a real-life hero," she answered. Inari frowned. A hero, like his father?

O0o.o0O

"How's it turning out, Gaara?" Naruto said as he landed beside his red-headed friend a short run later. He pulled the bandana over his hair once again and put his mask back on.

"If it continues on like this, Zabuza and Haku will surely win," he answered from his position behind some of the crates that help building supplies that were piled on the bridge.

Naruto surveyed the scene. The mist was thick covering the battle where Kakashi and Zabuza were going at it. He couldn't see, but he could hear the sounds of their heavy breathing from exertion with his keen hearing. Haku had two of the boys plus a dog surrounded by a dome of his ice mirrors. The two boys looked like human pin cushions with all of the needles sticking out of them, but the dog was unharmed. Naruto didn't have to worry about that battle. Haku would not hit any vital organs and, at most, would put them in a death-like coma. Haku would probably just leave the dog as it was, being of no threat to him or his ice mirrors. He was just keeping them contained and out of Zabuza's fight right now.

Suddenly the air erupting with the sounds of chirping, the mist seemed to be clearing as well. It revealed Zabuza pinned to the ground by a group of dogs attached to his arms. That explained why the mist cleared. Zabuza had to continue to feed chakra to it to keep it up and he was obviously not in a state where concentration came easy right now.

The chirping sound was coming from an electrical attack that was charged on Kakashi's hand.

"What is that?" Naruto asked Gaara, who shrugged. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Naruto had already started moving closer.

"This ends now, Zabuza!" Kakashi shouted before charging. Haku looked over at the battle and his eyes widened. _No Zabuza! _He formed an ice mirror in front of Zabuza and teleported there, intending to take the attack. He never got the chance as another masked boy jumped in front of him, impaling himself on the attack.

Kakashi's eyes widened. It couldn't be. He'd just killed someone he didn't mean to. He pulled his hand back and jumped back. . Naruto fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.

O0o.end chapter.o0O


	8. Gatou's End

Chapter VIII: Gatou's End

Chapter VIII: Gatou's End

"_This ends now, Zabuza!" Kakashi shouted before charging. Haku looked over at the battle and his eyes widened. No Zabuza! He formed an ice mirror in front of Zabuza and teleported there, intending to take the attack. He never got the chance as another masked boy jumped in front of him, impaling himself on the attack. _

_Kakashi's eyes widened. It couldn't be. He'd just killed someone he didn't mean to. He pulled his hand back and jumped back. . .Naruto fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had just been cut._

Haku ended his ice mirror dome jutsu, and the two boys, one whose eyes had turned red with two black commas in them, looked on in shock. Who was the newcomer and why would he sacrifice himself for the rogue ninja's. Another accomplice?

Sakura felt her stomach turn at the sight of the blood dripping off of Kakashi's hand. Tazuna couldn't form any words and his mouth kept opening and closing like a goldfish. They startled when another masked nin came out from behind them. He was clothed in black hunter nin garments. "I hate it when he does stuff like that," he said in a calm monotone to no one in particular.

"Naruto," Haku said as he kneeled beside the down boy. He was numb. Was Naruto dead?

"Pathetic tool…" Zabuza rumbled.

"Shut up, you eyebrow-less freak. Don't pretend like you wouldn't miss me," the ninja with a hole through his chest said. He started to move feebly, much to the shock of everyone there except for Gaara. The excitable blond stood up with a bit of effort. "Don't think I don't see the tears in your eyes from here."

Zabuza ignored the jab. He found Gaara was also by Naruto's side. "Hmm..so you decided to come help after all."

"Don't get your hopes up, no-brows," Naruto said. "I'm here to make sure you don't hurt Haku or the bridge builder.

Zabuza shook his head. "You are my tool and tools should do as they're told. If they don't, then they're useless, like you."

"I don't agree," Naruto argued back, unaware that they had an audience in the other ninja on the bridge who were interested in just who this newcomer was and how he had survived Kakashi's hand through his chest. "I've told you before, but you refuse to listen to me. So listen closely this time: Ninjas may be tools, but they are humans first. A ninja is nothing unless he has some sort of code that he sticks to. I'm a tool, but I am not a tool that will kill innocents, I will not take a mission that goes against my morals, and I will always pick to save my friends over the mission itself, screw the money and the reputation!"

Kakashi's eyes were wide. This kid reminded him so much of Obito. _Just who is this kid?_

"You sound like a leaf nin," Zabuza accused. "Are you going to fight along side them and against me?"

"If it is the only way to save innocent lives…yes." There was no doubt in his voice. He stood straight and proudly in front of the leaf nins, separating them from the rogue nin. Gaara took up his place by his side.

"You too, then, Gaara?" Zabuza asked. The boy nodded.

"Haku?"

The boy looked down. "I believe Naruto may be right," his gentle voice said, "But I will remain at your side, if that is your wish."

"Hmm…" The rogue nin considered. "Then my job here is done. I will not attack the bridge builder anymore."

Kakashi felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He called off his dogs and Haku rushed to Zabuza to give what medical aid he could to the arms.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked the boy who he had stabbed through the chest.

Naruto held open the hole in his shirt, "Yep, see? All healed up!" Kakashi could imagine him smiling under his mask.

"Let's leave," Zabuza ordered his three charges.

"Not so fast, Zabuza!" a new voice called.

The group of ninja looked up to see Gatou surrounded by a bunch of bloodthirsty, common thugs – his army. They were each holding a different bladed weapon.

"Gatou. I don't understand. What is the meaning of all this?" Zabuza asked.

"Of course you don't understand," the short little man lectured, "You don't know anything about the business world, like how much it costs to hire a missing nin. It's not a very profitable arrangement, if you catch my drift."

"You planned to betray us from the start," Zabuza surmised.

"Of course! I was going to let you come here and tire yourself out killing Tazuna's protection and then my guys would finish you off. But I see you've failed to even do that. Demon of the Mist! Hah! What a laugh! You look as demonic as a wet kitten!"

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at the insult. That man dared to challenge him. Unfortunately the businessman was right about one thing, he was exhausted from fighting and his arms were next to useless at the moment.

Haku gripped his shoulder, "Rest now, Zabuza. We have this covered."

Kakashi wondered how strong the three of them were. From their confident stances and from watching the one known as Haku, he had to guess high chunin, low jounin.

"All right!" Naruto shouted, pounding his fist into his hand. "Let's go wild."

"Get them!" Gatou shouted. His thugs began to charge. Naruto swung his hands air through the air. The thugs were pushed back by a strong wind that suddenly sprung up. It settled and they looked at each other in hesitation. "Don't be scared, they're just kids!" Gatou urged them on. They started to come again, but more cautious this time.

"We need a plan," Gaara suggested.

"Okay!" Naruto stepped forward. "Haku, you take care of the left. Gaara, you've go the left. I'll get the middle."

Gaara's sand began to pour out of his gourd. It crept under their feet and snagged them down. They all met the same fate, being pulled down into the sand and crushed beneath it. Haku preferred to incapacitate them with his sebon, using his superior speed to zip in and out of the thugs. Naruto attacked them with what seemed like an invisible blade. Blood spilled from the thugs without Naruto touching them.

"Kakashi," Sakura asked. "How is he doing that?"

Kakashi surveyed it with his sharingan. "He's using wind chakra to form a blade of cutting winds. That degree of control is…unheard of. It must be some form of a bloodline. In fact, all three of them seem to have a type of bloodline."

"You're right, Kakashi. And to tell you the truth, I didn't even know the full extent of their powers when I pulled these three orphans off the street. Can you believe no one else wanted them?" Zabuza commented as he watched his protégés take out the competition. Together, the three approached Gatou.

"How noble of you," Kakashi commented offhandedly, watching the get closer to the evil little man.

"No!" shouted Gatou trying to back away, "Get away! Get away from me you little monsters." That was the breaking point for Gaara. _Monster?_ He had been called that too many times before. Sand came up and swallowed Gatou.

"Aw…Gaara! You took all the fun!" Naruto complained.

O0o.o0O

"I am sorry to have caused you such pain," Haku apologized to Sasuke and Kiba after the fighting was done. He removed his mask. "My name is Haku."

"You're that…guy I met in the woods," Sasuke said. His eyes had finally returned to black.

"And I'm sorry for the disguises. It was necessary at the time," Haku bowed. Sasuke nodded, pulling some needles out of his arms. Haku helped them remove the rest.

However, soon, all eyes turned to the other two masked nin, as if begging them to remove their masks too. They were curious to see who had saved them. And masks were annoying.

Gaara and Naruto looked at each other. Naruto shrugged, so Gaara nodded. They too removed their masks and the bandana's from their bright hair. Kakashi's eyes opened. The blond looked just like a miniature Yondaime.

Tanuza recognized them immediately, "Naruto! Gaara! You got taller!"

"Of course, old man! That's what kids do!" shouted back.

Everyone else there shared a collective thought: _They know each other!_

Kakashi was thinking something different: _Naruto Uzumaki…so you survived after all. He probably has one hellavu story to tell._

_O0o.o0O_

"So, you see, you never were in any real danger, old man!" Naruto explained after Tanuza invited them all home for dinner, even the injured Zabuza. Naruto had just finished explaining what he and Gaara had been doing since they left the care of the bridge builder and his daughter.

Inari was suspicious of all the new ninjas in the house, but he seemed enamored by Naruto for some reason, even asking to sit on his lap during the tale.

"Will you all stay the night?" Tsunami asked. "It's the least we could do for what you have done for this village."

"Zabuza?" Naruto addressed the missing nin.

_Oh, now he consults me!_

"No, we are going to clean out the rest of Gatou's hideout."

"Then we bid you farewell," Kakashi said as they got up to leave.

"You might see us again, sometime, Kakashi," Zabuza replied.

Kakashi sensed that there was something larger going on here. He'd just have to wait for it to reveal itself.

O0o.o0O

"So, what did you of those guys?" Kiba asked later on that night.

Sasuke was silent for a while, as if deciding whether or not the question was worth him answering. "They are…strong. They seemed a little strange as well, especially the blond. He almost seemed bipolar."

Kiba laughed. "You just don't understand happy people, Sasuke. I liked them. They were so awesome." Akamaru barked in agreement.

O0o.o0O

They laid the last bit of planking for the bridge and the entire village was present and cheering. The leaf nins smiled as they walked away, back toward their home.

"So, what should we call this bridge?" Tsunami asked.

"How about 'The Super Awesome Bridge that Tanuza Built?'" Tanuza suggested, unabashedly.

"No, that's stupid," his daughter replied, causing Tanuza to deflate.

"How about," Inari said, "'The Great Naruto Bridge.'"

"Why would you name it just after him?" Tanuza asked.

"Because he defied his place in this world and reminded us all of what a true hero is."

Tsunami patted her son's head. "I think it is a good name for a bridge that will save us all."

Tanuza sulked. "Not the "Super Awesome Bridge of Tanuza's?'" Tsunami shook her head in the negative.

O0o.o0O

When the leaf nins crossed the bridge, the last thing they expected to see were Zabuza, Haku, Gaara, and Naruto waiting for them along the road. The three boys looked confused as to why they were there.

"Yo," greeted Kakashi, putting away his orange book.

"Kakashi, I have a favor to ask of you," Zabuza called out.

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow, "That seems ambitious, but tell me anyway."

"I want you to take my three students back to Konoha with you."

"What!?" three voices chorused.

"For any particular reason?" Kakashi asked.

"They have learned all they can from me and their future lies elsewhere," the rogue nin said.

"What! You can't expect us to go along with that," Naruto fumed, "Or maybe you forgot! Some of us ran away from ninja villages already and we're not looking to return to one!"

"Shut up, Naruto," Zabuza said sharply. "A tool that does not listen to me has no place by my side!"

"And if I am a tool that doesn't listen to you why would I listen to you now?" Naruto challenged, butting heads, metaphorically, with Zabuza.

"Sure, we'll take them," Kakashi said airily as if Naruto and Zabuza weren't getting ready to get into a fist fight in front of him.

"Who said I was going?" Naruto turned his anger on the scarecrow.

"I do," Gaara said. "I'm tired of adventures. We need somewhere we can settle in so that we can become stronger."

"Gaara…" Naruto looked hurt.

"We have to face the past and our fears someday, Naruto," Gaara said.

"Besides," Kakashi added, "You belong in Konoha. Lord Hokage has not been the same since he thought you were dead."

"Jii-san?" Naruto asked, longingly. His frown turned into a pout. "Well…I'll give it a shot…but I'm not promising anybody anything."

"What about you, Zabuza?" Haku asked. They could all tell this was hard on the boy, but his reason for living was ordering him to part ways with him.

"You will see me, again. By then, I'll be the Mizukage. I will accomplish my dream still."

And so the odd trio found themselves under the supervision of Hatake Kakashi.

O0o.end chapter.o0O


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